unchangeable
hostility of the flesh to that which is born of the spirit.

The Teachings. (1) Jehovah is especially interested in Israel. (2) He
will establish a new kingdom, with Judea and Jerusalem as the center
and with holiness as the chief characteristic.

Analysis.

I. Edom's punishment, 1-9.

1. She must fall, 1-4.

2. Her allies will desert her, 5-7.

3. Her wisdom will fail her, 8-9.
II. Edom's sin, 10-14

III. Guilt of the nations, 15-16.

IV. Judah shall be restored,

For Study and Discussion. (1) The sin of pride. (2) The sin of
rejoicing in another's misfortune. (3) Punishment according to our sin
and of the same kind as was our sin.

* * * * *

Chapter XX.

Jonah and Micah.

Jonah.

The Prophet. His name means "done," and he is the son of Amittai. His
home was Gath-hepher, a village of Zebulun, and he, therefore,
belonged to the ten tribes and not to Judah. He is first mentioned in
2 Kings 14:28, where he prophesied the success of Jeroboam II, in his
war with Syria, by which he would restore the territory that other
nations had wrested from Israel. He very likely prophesied at an early
date, though all attempts to determine the time of his prophecy or the
time and place of his death have failed.

The Prophecy. It differs from all the other prophecies in that it is a
narrative and more "the history of a prophecy than prophecy itself".
All the others are taken up chiefly with prophetic utterances, while
this book records the experiences and work of Jonah, but tells us
little of his utterances. The story of Jonah has been compared to
those of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17-19, and 2 Kings 4-6).

Although full of the miraculous element, the evident purpose is to
teach great moral and spiritual lessons, and it is unfortunate that
its supernatural element has made this book the subject of infidel
attack. But the facts, though extraordinary, are in no way
contradictory or inconsistent. Indeed, Mr. Driver has well said that
"no doubt the outlines of the narrative are historical." Christ spoke
of Jonah and accredited it by likening his own death for three days to
Jonah's three days in the fish's belly.

It is the most "Christian" of all the Old Testament books, its
central truth being the universality of the divine plan of redemption.
Nowhere else in the Old Testament is such stress laid upon the love of
God as embracing in its scope the whole human race.

Analysis.